A £4M investment project to improve a major road junction could help spell the end of Guildford’s notorious traffic problems.

The money, £2m from Surrey County Council and £2m from the University of Surrey, will enable sequenced traffic lights to replace the roundabout at the junction of Egerton Road and Gill Avenue, near the A3.

The multi-million pound plans will see major changes to the road layouts and should lead to “significantly increased” capacity at the junction connecting the university, the research park, Royal Surrey County Hospital and traffic from the A3 and Tesco.

The plans will also include better facilities for cyclists and pedestrians with new footpaths and toucan crossings.

Surrey County councillor for Guildford West Fiona White had been campaigning for improvements to the site since 2005 and has welcomed the news.

She said: “The county council has finally recognised the responsibility it has not only to the university, but patients, staff and visitors to the hospital, as well as the many local residents who have suffered misery for so long.

“One of the reasons it is such good news is because the residents in Ashenden Estate near Tesco, and the people who live in the Park Barn area in Westborough, have had to put up with a lot of traffic from the three big organisations there.

“Increased traffic is one major problem. It is really difficult for residents to get out to go to work in the morning or back in the evening as they are stuck in all the traffic, not going anywhere."

The plans were announced at the annual general meeting of Surrey County Council on Tuesday (May 10) by council leader Cllr Andrew Povey and were widely welcomed within county hall.

Dr Malcolm Parry is the director of the Surrey Research Park at the University of Surrey, which matched the authority’s funding for the project.

He said: “The University of Surrey is delighted that the plans it has developed for the improvement to the hospital roundabout now have the appropriate planning permission and will be jointly funded by the county council and the university.

“The investment of nearly £4m in the new road layout will significantly increase capacity and benefit those who use this strategic junction, particularly providing better access to the Royal Surrey County Hospital and the university’s research park.”

No date has yet been given for the work to begin.

For more on this story, see the Guildford edition of the Surrey Advertiser, out on Friday, May 13.